Busy Weekend

Maybe it's just repetitive muscle strain (and not from massage!), but carding has totally given me tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis. It started a few weeks ago when I decided to tackle the garage - lifting heavy boxes here and there - so I could get started with creating my own little fiber studio in there. I figured that my back was pretty strong, but that night I realized that though I may have a strong back, I guess my arms aren't as strong as I thought. My right elbow started to hurt, and it got worse when I carded on higher than normal stand the next day.

It's also curtailed some of my knitting, though not my spinning (whew!). As long as I keep applying acupressure on the painful spots and loosen it up with massage, it seems to be getting better. That, and making sure I card on a table height that's just right for me.

This weekend, I decided to tackle carding some art batts on my carder - bent teeth or not. I hated seeing that carder sitting so sheltered inside its plastic bin and wondered if I would have to sell it. But HollyEQQ changed all that. Ever since our brief twitter exhange, I've been carding like crazy. And spinning those batts I've carded, too.


Today I carded some of the Kool-Aid dyed locks that Nancy (the other Nancy) gave me last year. It was a full box of fiber that she needed to get rid of - and I carded these batts with it. I finally figured out how to adjust the drums on my Strauch Petite and now I can pack over an ounce of fiber on it! I'm one happy spinner, that's for sure!



Peeps on Parade (over 4 ounces!)

Last week I finally got started with my PVC loom and though it's not done yet - I'm still missing the reed and the rests for the reed, I warped it just to see if the tension "knobs" work. So far, it does, but until I get the reeds, it's still "in progress". I've been thinking of getting the reed for the Ashford Kniter's Loom because I hear it accommodates spinners' yarns - and that's me :)

So far, I think I've spent about $20 for the all the pvc (I used some of the pvc for a floor swift) and the two dowels, and maybe another $30 for reed. I don't know if it would have been better for me to buy a loom, but since I already had one to begin with and couldn't figure it out (I traded it for my Petite drum carder), it's amazing how a little bit of DIY helped me figure out the ins and outs of rigid heddle weaving - so far.